The thought of some .......electric car named VIPER makes me feel like puking. GTS Bruce
You know, an electric motor starts out from 0 RPM with 100% torque! A 3 phase AC motor can be infinitely varied from 0 to its max rpm of maybe 20,000 rpm with variable frequency drive electronics, negating the need to shift!
heh heh, just kidding ya, Bruce! Batteries are still too heavy and inefficient to make an electric car a viable alternative to an internal combustion powered sports car. Just thought I'd play the devil's advocate for a bit.
But think about this, (aside from Vipers, with their trademark V10s)- What if you had just as much power, and the same torque characteristics from a V6 that you can get from a big V8? What would be your motivation for wanting to stay with a V8? Just 'cause the number 8 is higher than the number 6? By the same token, why not insist on a V12 over a V10, or even a V16? What if engines got smaller, but had the same output? What is the downside to that? The only thing I can think of to support a big block over a small block, (provided the torque and HP are equal), is that a big block has lower bearing and structure loads, spread over more surface area, which should make it last longer. A tiny engine making big power has very highly stressed internal components, and heat soak/cooling issues. There must be other reasons, like maybe the cost/output ratio? Any others?
*edit* The ultimate reason for a big block just struck me- "Bigger is better"! Argument over!!
